You may use the Beaglebone Black as you choose. There are no licences involved in the usage of the BeagleBone Black for any purposes. However, we discourage the use of the board that we manufacture under the BeagleBoard.org logo in commercial products without understanding a few things first.

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UPDATED INFORMATION

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You may use the Beaglebone Black design materials as you choose. There are no licences involved in the usage of the BeagleBone Black design materials. We DO NOT support the use of the board that we manufacture under the BeagleBoard.org logo in commercial products. Period.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License. To

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License. To

1) We did not design the board for use in all products. We cannot therefore guarantee that it will work in all cases and over the full range of operation you expect. It is up to you to make that determination.<br>

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WE DID NOT DESIGN THE BOARD FOR USE IN PRODUCTS. We cannot therefore guarantee that it will work in products. We provide NO support for using this board in a product.<br>

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2) We will make whatever updates and changes to the board that are required to resolve any issues we see. Once updated, the old revision will no longer be made. This will mean that if you use the board in your product, we will not guarantee long term supply of any revision, but what we do supply will be improved over the earlier version.<br>

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ALL design materials are Open Source and easily accessible. Everything is provided to build your own board. You can make changes as needed or use it as is. It is your product when you use these materials. <br>

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Feel free to build the board yourself at your contract manufacturer of choice.<br>

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3) All design materials are Open Source and easily accessible. Everything is provided to build your own board. You can make changes as needed or use it as is. It is your product when you use these materials. There are resources available that can assist you in this effort if needed. Resources are available to assist you in doing this.<br>

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4) Our manufacturing plans are based on demand from our distributors. We have cannot make plans for large build buys from people putting boards in products that we do not know about. When this does happen, we can run out of stock literally overnight. We cannot guarantee stock for putting boards in products!!!! Unfortunately, this is currently causing us issues in that we cannot keep stock for the community. Despite shipping boards, distributors still are not showing stock.<br>

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If you chose to use the board in a product, please keep this factors in mind. If you decide to go ahead and do this, there are other avenues available to you that have certain advantages that will help you in your usage of the board in a product. For more information please contact [mailto:gerald@beagleboard.org Gerald Coley] for more details on how easily this can be done.<br>

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If you have questions on any of this, you can contact [mailto:gerald@beagleboard.org Gerald Coley]

If you have questions on any of this, you can contact [mailto:gerald@beagleboard.org Gerald Coley]

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==Board Shipments==

==Board Shipments==

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We have shipped a total '''105,700''' boards to date. As more boards ship, the number will be updated.

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We have shipped a total '''129,200''' boards to date.<br>

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February 2014 Shipments....13,050<br>

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January 2014 Shipments.....13,575<br>

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December 2013 Shipments....7,192<br>

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November 2013 Shipments....9,298<br>

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October 2013 Shipments.....7,698<br>

==Accessories==

==Accessories==

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For a list of the confirmed working accessories please goto *[[Beagleboard:BeagleBone_Black_Accessories | Accessories Page]]<br />

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For a list of the confirmed working accessories please go to *[[Beagleboard:BeagleBone_Black_Accessories | Accessories Page]]<br />

Covered there are cables, power supplies, displays,etc. Anything that can be added to the BeagleBone Black.

Covered there are cables, power supplies, displays,etc. Anything that can be added to the BeagleBone Black.

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==Board Revisions and Changes==

==Board Revisions and Changes==

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===Revision A6A (Production Version)===

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===Revision B (Production Version)===

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This version moves to the AM3358BZCZ100 processor as we are no longer able to get the limited production version of the AM3359AZCZ100. <br>

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No changes in features or operation of the board resulted from this change.<br>

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===Revision A6A===

No changes in features or operation of the board.<br>

No changes in features or operation of the board.<br>

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4) Removed R9 and installed R8. This change was based on an alert we just received from TI that there is a power sequencing issue with the TPS65217C power management IC and the power sequencing is incorrect. This change connects the VDDS rail to the VRTC rail. We do not believe at this time, that the issue is causing any issues with the boards, but we want to comply with the directive.

4) Removed R9 and installed R8. This change was based on an alert we just received from TI that there is a power sequencing issue with the TPS65217C power management IC and the power sequencing is incorrect. This change connects the VDDS rail to the VRTC rail. We do not believe at this time, that the issue is causing any issues with the boards, but we want to comply with the directive.

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===Revision A6 (Previous Production Version)===

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===Revision A6===

No changes in features or operation of the board.<br>

No changes in features or operation of the board.<br>

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3) Moved the enable for the VDD_3V3B regulator to VDD_3V3A rail. Change was made to reduce the delay between the ramp up of the 3.3V rails. No evidence of this being an issue, but it really needs to be as close to the same as possible.<br>

3) Moved the enable for the VDD_3V3B regulator to VDD_3V3A rail. Change was made to reduce the delay between the ramp up of the 3.3V rails. No evidence of this being an issue, but it really needs to be as close to the same as possible.<br>

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===Revision A5C (Old Production Version)===

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===Revision A5C===

Production had some fallout of boards when running the HDMI tests in the previous production run. Resistor values were tweaked to improve the test results.<br>

Production had some fallout of boards when running the HDMI tests in the previous production run. Resistor values were tweaked to improve the test results.<br>

No changes in features or operation of the board.<br>

No changes in features or operation of the board.<br>

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2) Changed R45 to a 22 Ohm.<br>

2) Changed R45 to a 22 Ohm.<br>

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===Revision A5B (Old Production Version)===

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===Revision A5B===

1) Updated the PCB to incorporate the modification that was being done on Rev A5A. There is NO DIFFERENCE AT ALL in functionality between REV A5A and REV A5B.<br>

1) Updated the PCB to incorporate the modification that was being done on Rev A5A. There is NO DIFFERENCE AT ALL in functionality between REV A5A and REV A5B.<br>

2) Made the LEDs dimmer for those that could not sleep due to the brightness of the LEDs.<br>

2) Made the LEDs dimmer for those that could not sleep due to the brightness of the LEDs.<br>

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===Revision A5A (Old Production Version)===

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===Revision A5A===

1) Boards are built using the XAM3359AZCZ100 processor.<BR>

1) Boards are built using the XAM3359AZCZ100 processor.<BR>

2) PCB Change...LCD noise issue was resolved by adding 47pf bypass caps on some of the LCD signals.<BR>

2) PCB Change...LCD noise issue was resolved by adding 47pf bypass caps on some of the LCD signals.<BR>

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[http://hackaday.com/?s=BeagleBone+Black Hackaday] You can also subscribe to this. Should be checked often for the latest cool projects on BeagleBone Black<br>

[http://hackaday.com/?s=BeagleBone+Black Hackaday] You can also subscribe to this. Should be checked often for the latest cool projects on BeagleBone Black<br>

The links below are static links that always point to the latest version of the listed documents. These links can be used by distributors or users to point to the latest documentation. As documents are updated, the links will remain the same, but the actual file will be updated. This insures that you always have the latest documents and your links will always work.

The links below are static links that always point to the latest version of the listed documents. These links can be used by distributors or users to point to the latest documentation. As documents are updated, the links will remain the same, but the actual file will be updated. This insures that you always have the latest documents and your links will always work.

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A GitHub repo is available with all revisions of the documentation - https://github.com/CircuitCo/BeagleBone-Black

A GitHub repo is available with all revisions of the documentation - https://github.com/CircuitCo/BeagleBone-Black

* [https://www.amazon.com/dp/0201737191 ARM Architecture Reference Manual] - may be available as a free download

Revision as of 21:45, 3 March 2014

This is the official BeagleBone Black Wiki maintained and supported by BeagleBoard.org a non-profit 501(C) organization.
If you have any questions or issues with the content on this Wiki, contact Gerald Coley

BeagleBone Black Description

The BeagleBone Black is the newest member of the BeagleBoard family. It is a lower-cost, high-expansion focused BeagleBoard using a low cost Sitara XAM3359AZCZ100 Cortex A8 ARM processor from Texas Instruments. It is similar to the Beaglebone,but with some features removed and some features added. The table below gives the high points on the differences between the BeagleBone and BeagleBone Black.

BeagleBone Black Features

The following table lists the key features of the BeagleBone Black.

In the box is (1)BeagleBone Black board, (1)USB cable, and (1)card that should be read.

BeagleBone Black Picture

Here is a picture of the Rev A5A board.

BeagleBone Black Key Component Locations

Here are the locations of the key components on the Rev A5A.

BeagleBone Black Connector and Switch Locations

Below is the location of the connectors and switches on the Rev A5A board.
The Power Button and Battery Connections are new additions to the Rev A5A.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

List of frequently asked questions concerning the BeagleBone Black. It will be updated as more questions continued to be answered.

Terms of Use

UPDATED INFORMATION

You may use the Beaglebone Black design materials as you choose. There are no licences involved in the usage of the BeagleBone Black design materials. We DO NOT support the use of the board that we manufacture under the BeagleBoard.org logo in commercial products. Period.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License. To
view a copy of this license, visit creativecommons.org or
send a letter to:</br>
Creative Commons
171 Second Street, Suite 300
San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.

WE DID NOT DESIGN THE BOARD FOR USE IN PRODUCTS. We cannot therefore guarantee that it will work in products. We provide NO support for using this board in a product.

ALL design materials are Open Source and easily accessible. Everything is provided to build your own board. You can make changes as needed or use it as is. It is your product when you use these materials.
Feel free to build the board yourself at your contract manufacturer of choice.

Cape Support

Beagleboard.org is not the maker of the various capes. Most of them are made and supported by Circuitco under the beagleboardtoys.com name. For information on cape compatibility and support go to BeagleBone Black Capes

WIFI Adapters

NOTE: It is highly recommend that you use DC power when running these dongles due to the current requirements of the dongles.

Note: Always run the board from 5VDC 1A minimum supply when using a Wifi Dongle. You may need to use a extension cable to move the dongle away from the planes of the PCB.
Sometimes standoffs will work. We also have had instances where when placed in a metal case, there can be Wifi issues as well.
You can also use a dongle with a real antenna on it such as Logic Supply which will help

Serial Debug Cable

Board Revisions and Changes

Revision B (Production Version)

This version moves to the AM3358BZCZ100 processor as we are no longer able to get the limited production version of the AM3359AZCZ100.
No changes in features or operation of the board resulted from this change.

Revision A6A

No changes in features or operation of the board.

1) Added optional zero ohm resistor to tie GND_OSC1 to system ground.
2) Changed C106 to a 1uF capacitor.
3) Changed C24 to a 2.2uF capacitor. This extends the reset signal to solve an issue where some boards would not boot on power up.
4) Removed R9 and installed R8. This change was based on an alert we just received from TI that there is a power sequencing issue with the TPS65217C power management IC and the power sequencing is incorrect. This change connects the VDDS rail to the VRTC rail. We do not believe at this time, that the issue is causing any issues with the boards, but we want to comply with the directive.

Revision A6

No changes in features or operation of the board.

1) Based on notification from TI, in random instances there could be a glitch in the SYS_RESETn signal from the processor where the SYS_RESETn signal was taken high for a momentary amount of time before it was supposed to. To prevent this, the signal was ORed with the PORZn (Power On reset).
2) Noise issues were observed in other designs where the clock oscillator was getting hit due to a suspected issue in ground bounce. A zero ohm resistor was added to connect the OSC_GND to the system ground.
3) Moved the enable for the VDD_3V3B regulator to VDD_3V3A rail. Change was made to reduce the delay between the ramp up of the 3.3V rails. No evidence of this being an issue, but it really needs to be as close to the same as possible.

Revision A5C

Production had some fallout of boards when running the HDMI tests in the previous production run. Resistor values were tweaked to improve the test results.
No changes in features or operation of the board.
1) Changed R46,R47,R48 to a 0 ohm.
2) Changed R45 to a 22 Ohm.

Revision A5B

1) Updated the PCB to incorporate the modification that was being done on Rev A5A. There is NO DIFFERENCE AT ALL in functionality between REV A5A and REV A5B.
2) Made the LEDs dimmer for those that could not sleep due to the brightness of the LEDs.

Revision A5A

1) Boards are built using the XAM3359AZCZ100 processor.
2) PCB Change...LCD noise issue was resolved by adding 47pf bypass caps on some of the LCD signals.
3) PCB Change...Added access to four battery charger signals on the TPS65217 (TS=Temperature Sense, BAT=Battery connection,BATT_SENSE=Battery voltage pin, GND=Ground). Pins are not populated but the four signals are in a 2x2 .1x.1 spacing.
4) PCB Change...Added a power button which allows for wake up, power down, and sleep options. It also provides the ability to alert the processor before powering down to provide an orderly shutdown. It is expected that SW will be used in conjunction with the switch to control the various power modes and transitions from one to the other. By holding the button down for 8 seconds, it will force a power down of the board.
5) Added a 100K pull down resistor from J1 pin 1 to J1 pin 4 to fix the unterminated serial port issue.

Revision A4B

Added a 100K pull down resistor between pins 1 and 4 of J1 to fix the serial port issue.

Revision A4A

Incorporated the capacitors to fix the noise issue on the display

Revision A4

First prototype release version of the board. Limited distribution. One notable issue here is that the board has an AM3352 processor instead of an AM3359, despite how the part is marked. Part was mismarked as an AM3359. The SGX and PRU are not operational.

Tips and Pointers

Expansion Header Usage

There are several precautions that need to me taken when working with the expansion headers to prevent damage to the board.

ALL VOLTAGE LEVELS ARE 3.3V MAX. APPLICATION OF 5V TO ANY I/O PIN WILL DAMAGE THE PROCESSOR AND VOID THE WARRANTY.
ANALOG IN VOLTAGES ARE 1.8V MAX. APPLICATION OF >1.8V TO ANY A/D PIN WILL DAMAGE THE PROCESSOR AND VOID THE WARRANTY.

1) Do not apply any voltages to any I/O pins when the board is not powered on.
2) Do not drive any external signals into the I/O pins until after the SYS_RESETn signal is HI (3.3V).
3) Do not apply any voltages that are generated from external sources until SYS_RESETn signal is HI.
4) If voltages are generated from the VDD_5V signal, those supplies must not become active until after the SYS_RESETn signal is HI.
5) If you are applying signals from other boards into the expansion headers, make sure you power the board up after you power up the BeagleBone Black or make the connections after power is applied on both boards.

Powering the processor via its I/O pins can cause damage to the processor.
The expansion headers can be viewed on this Cape Expansion Headers.

Expanding the Storage Partition on microSD

If you have installed a Linux distribution on your microSD you can modify the root file system partition. You are then able to utilize all of the space on your microSD card regardless of the size of the default partition of your given image. Follow the instructions found on Expanding File System Partition on a MicroSD.

Note: The instructions on that page are general and are not guaranteed to work on every Linux distribution.

BoneScript

Bonescript is a Node.js library specifically optimized for the Beagle family, featuring familiar Arduino function calls, exported to the browser. The BoneScript library provides several functions useful for interacting with your hardware. The following BoneScript provides a dozen of hardware demos that interact with the BeagleBone Black.

Connecting to the BeagleBone Black: Serial Connection, SSH, or USB

In the following Terminal Shells page, there are instructions on how to connect to the BeagleBone Black through either a serial connection, SSH using an ethernet cable, or SSH to the BeagleBone's built-in IP address over a USB cable.

Known Issues

WIKI Issues

Software

1) The microSD card cannot be used as a storage device when booting from microSD in the 3.8 kernel.
2) SGX support is not currently provided i the 3.8 kernel.
3) The latest production image 6_20_2013 does not work on Lapdocks.

You can find a list of reported issues and add additional ones by going to Bug Tracker

Hardware

Here are the known Hardware issues:

REV A4,A4A...Processor is a AM3352 due to the incorrect part being marked as an AM3359.

REV A4,A4A...Does not ship with any cables. Rev A5 will ship with the USB cable.

REV A4...If you look closely, you will notice some noise in the display. This is due to a termination issue on the board caused by too many connections to the LCD data pins. This will be fixed on the A5 revision.

REV A4, A4A...Serial port can cause the system to crash if there is not a serial cable plugged into J1.

Software Resources

Angstrom

It is highly recommended that you always use the latest version of the Software.
For instructions on updating the Angstrom Software on your BeagleBone Black go to Updating the Software

If you power off the board without using the Power Button to do it, you can corrupt the data in the eMMC Flash.
For instructions on reflashing the Angstrom Software on your BeagleBone Black go to Updating the Software

Android

Nintendo

If you want to turn your BeagleBone Black into a SNES (Super Nintendo Entertainment System) you can check that out at BeagleSNES
This link is provided as a convenience and the software located at this link is not supported by Circuitco or BeagleBoard.org.

Gentoo

This link is provided as a convenience and the software located at this link is not supported by Circuitco or BeagleBoard.org.
Gentoo

ArchLinux

This link is provided as a convenience and the software located at this link is not supported by Circuitco or BeagleBoard.org.
ArchLinux

LinuxCNC

This link is provided as a convenience and the software located at this link is not supported by Circuitco or BeagleBoard.org. LinuxCNC

Minix

This link is provided as a convenience and the software located at this link is not supported by Circuitco or BeagleBoard.org. Minix

XNU

This link is provided as a convenience and the software located at this link is not supported by Circuitco or BeagleBoard.org. CNU

Hardware Files

LATEST PRODUCTION FILES (B)

The links below are static links that always point to the latest version of the listed documents. These links can be used by distributors or users to point to the latest documentation. As documents are updated, the links will remain the same, but the actual file will be updated. This insures that you always have the latest documents and your links will always work.

REV A4

BeagleBone Capes

BeagleBone capes are add on boards that can be connected to the BeagleBone Black to add functionality. These capes are made by a lot of different companies and individuals.
A list of capes that are in production are listed at BeagleBone Capes.

If you have a cape that is in production and can be purchased and you would like it listed, please contact Circuitco. More information regarding the Cape Expansion Headers can be found at Cape Expansion Headers.

Most of the current capes will work with the BeagleBone Black at some point. However, the kernel is 3.8 on the BeagleBone Black, so work is required to get the drivers updated for most of the capes to work.
Some may not work or may require some hardware changes due to some differences in the design of the BeagleBone Black as described below.

Onboard HDMI

The onboard HDMI driver uses the LCD pins. They are still connected to the expansion header, but in some cases, they could cause an LCD cape to have some noise issues unless the cape has a buffer.
A buffer should take care of this issue. If you want to use these pins as GPIO pins, you may be limited in speed due to the capacitance caused by the loadig of the pins by the HDMI driver.
They should function fine in most applications.

Onboard eMMC

The onboard eMMC uses the MMC1 signals. They are also connected to the expansion header.
The expectation is that in order to use these signals, the eMMC device on the BeagleBone Black will need to be disabled by activating the reset line to the eMMC device.
It is not clear that this will work as you have to write to the eMMC first and tell it to enable the reset.
At this point in time, it is not totally clear that the reset line will do the trick. Further investigation is ongoing. This will also require booting from the uSD port.
Best option is to not use the MMC1_CLK and MMC1_CMD signals at all and tie them low.
Do not use these signals for anything else will trying to use the other eMMC1 lines on the expansion header.

10Pin Connector

The 10 pin power expansion header has been removed. Any cape needing this connector will not be 100% compatible.

Regulatory Compliance Documents

Export Information

RMA Support

If you feel the board is defective and you want to get it looked at go to RMA Request
You will need the serial number. It is located on the expansion header in the form of a white label.

We only accept RMA requests for those boards purchased through authorized BeagleBoard.org
distributors.
You can find a list of authorized distributors on the buy pages at BeagleBoard.org
If you purchase a board from an unauthorized distributor, you need to return the board to them for
replacement or repair.
Shipping to the repair depot is covered by the requester. Return shipping is paid by the repair
depot.